Best Air purifier in India 2018

To find the best air purifier in India, we analyzed all the products on Amazon and Flipkart and even read through reputed websites.

By Nikhil Gadkar

Updated 2 years ago

Seeing the rise in pollution levels year on year, it is high time all of us started looking towards ways to breathe cleaner air. While traveling to a hill station is possible on a weekend or on a holiday, the more logical solution is investing in an air purifier and of course planting more trees.

To find the best air purifier in India for you, we started by shortlisting all products on Amazon and Flipkart, analyzing through their important features and specifications and also reading through suggestions from NDTV Food and TechRadar. ​

​Best Air Purifier in India

​Philips 3000 Series AeraSense Air Purifier AC3256

​With a cool, futuristic design, easy to use touch controls, carry handle and a high CADR and coverage area, the Philips AC3256 is an air purifier designed for high performance and for large homes up to 1000 sq. ft.

You can purchase the HEPA filter here and Activated Carbon filter here

​Best Air Purifier in India (Budget)

​MI Air Purifier 2

​The Mi Purifier 2 is Xiaomi's first home appliance product for the Indian market and like most of their products this one too is unique and budget-friendly. With a CADR rating of 310, coverage up to 400 sq. ft. and smart controls using a smartphone the Mi Air Purifier 2 makes for a great budget air purifier.

​Why trust us?

With air pollution increasing at an alarming rate, the need for the air purifier is paramount, but which one should you pick? To help you make the right purchase we put in a lot of effort shortlisting all the products from Amazon and Flipkart and analyzing them to find the best.

We also made sure to add best picks from reputed websites like NDTV Food and TechRadar.

​How we selected?

To find the best air purifier in India we started by shortlisting the different air purifiers on Amazon and Flipkart. We looked at some of the most important specifications like coverage area, CADR value, filtering technology etc. before deciding on the best products.

Finally, we also added picks from reputed websites like NDTV Food and TechRadar.

Philips AC3256 air purifier stands vertically with rounded corners giving it a look of a cutesy, robotic butler. The neon blue light with a center cavity gives it a very Tron like vibe which makes it look more futuristic than just a regular run of a mill air purifier. There is also an handle so you can lift it and take it to a different room. To control the air purifier you have touch controls mounted on the top which are well spaced and easy to use. The center houses the display to show you the real time PM 2.5 levels in the air.

The Philips air purifier uses a pre-filter, two-layer HEPA and an activated carbon filter. All these filters combined help to remove even microscopic allergens, as small as 0.02 micrometre. There is also a special Allergen Mode that is claimed to remove 99.97 percent common airborne allergens including the H1N1 virus. The air purifier is also tested/ certified by AHAM, ECARF, and Airmid (This shows it can be used by people who are allergic to different things).

A cool feature is an indicator to show the filter status so you can replace them once their efficiency reduces. But that's not it, the air purifier will automatically stop working if the filter is clogged up. This prevent the air purifier from getting contaminated.

Given its multiple filters, the Philips AC3256 has a Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR) rate of 393m3/h and is suitable for large rooms up to 1027sq. ft. Most of the customers were very satisfied with its performance and found the air purifier could get the PM 2.5 levels down to 18 from 180 in less than half an hour (Fan level 5 and a 215 sq. ft. room). For a room of 645 sq. ft. the air purifier takes around an hour to bring down the PM 2.5 levels to 30 from 200. This is decent considering the sizes of the room it is capable of working in.

Philips claims the noise levels range from 32.5~63.8 dB depending on the mode you are in. Most people claimed the purifier was silent except in the Turbo Mode (level 5). To make sure the air purifier doesn't disturb you during your sleep, you have a sleep mode where the machine dials down the fan producing noise as low as 33DB and even reducing the indicator light intensity.

The filters are on the expensive side with the Carbon filter costing Rs.1800 and the HEPA filter costing Rs.3000. The life of the filter depends on your usage and fan speed. Customers reported the filter life anywhere from 2 months (heavy usage) to 6 months. The filters are easily available online. The Pre-filter catches dust easily and must be regularly washed.

Philips offers a 2-year warranty on the product and you can contact their customer care for any issue. Philips also offers doorstep service and has service centers in all major cities of India.

​Priced at nearly Rs.25,000 the Philips AC3256 is expensive but given its large coverage area, high CADR rating, ease of use and good performance makes it one of the best in India.

​After launching just about every electronic item from smartphones, tablets, laptops, televisions, speakers, routers, headphones and power banks, Xiaomi has now started to focus on the home appliance market and the Mi Air Purifier 2 is the latest in their lineup of home products. In terms of design, it is even more minimalistic than the Philips Air Purifier with its almost boxy shape and dotted vents on the sides. The fan-like cutout on the top isn't the most beautiful design detail you will see, but look closely and you see no controls just three led lights. That's because it doesn't need any, you control it from your smartphone with a dedicated app. Everything from fan speed, PM 2.5 rating, mode switch, filter status can all be controlled and seen from the convenience of your smartphone.

The Xiaomi Air Purifier too has a primary filter, HEPA filter, and an activated carbon filter. Together they work to give it a Clean Air Delivery Rate(CADR) of 310m3/h and capacity to circulate pure air to a 226 sq. ft. room in 10 minutes. The air purifier is effective in rooms up to 400 sq. ft. which is lower than our best pick, but the Mi Purifier is faster in purifying the air. The Mi Air Purifier is silent in operation and you get a sleep mode where it becomes extremely silent during operation.

Instead of the three separate filters found on the Philips, Xiaomi uses a single filter that houses all three filters. This is great in terms of pricing as the filter costs Rs.2500 compared to the Rs.4800 for the two filters of the Philips. The filter life is also good with most customers reporting their filters to last more than 6 months.

The Mi Air Purifier 2 comes with a 1-year service and you need to take the product to a nearby Mi Service center for any issues. No doorstep delivery is provided.

With a price of Rs.8,999, cool features and low filter cost, Xiaomi has once again excelled in the Air Purifier market taking on more established brands with a budget offering.

​After Sales service

Philips offers a 2-year warranty on their air purifier. You can contact their customer care for any issue. Philips also offers doorstep service for the air purifier and has service centers in all major cities of India.

Philips uses two different filters: One HEPA and One Activated Carbon Filter. Below are the links to buy the filters.

​Who are our best picks for?

The Philips AC3256 is designed for large homes up to 1000 sq. ft. and with a higher CADR rating can purify better. But it is also priced much higher at Rs.25,000 and comes with more expensive filters.

The Mi Air Purifier 2, on the other hand, is a budget offering that's designed for rooms up to 400 sq. ft. But don't let the low price of Rs.9000 fool you as it is quite powerful with a CADR rating of 310, 10-minute purification time and a cool mobile app to control it. ​

One thing we noted when reading about the products is that many people had a doubt about the Air Purifiers functioning as air filters. That is actually not possible as these products are strictly designed as air purifiers only. But you can look at the air coolers with air purifier functionality as we found two such products in our analysis of the best air coolers.​

​Final thoughts

If you are in the market for the best air purifier and budget is not a constraint for you, then the Philips AC3256 with its high CADR value, large coverage area, cool design, easy to use controls and good performance will be perfect for your needs.

However, if you need a more budget-friendly product for a smaller room then the Mi Purifier 2 will serve you well. It has a good CADR value and can be controlled by your smartphone.

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